Adventuring within the Kingdom
Epic Gaming A successful means to player exploitation of the campaign worlds of Pathfinder. Epic gaming provides an effective means to adventure within our campaign worlds. The design of epic gaming establishes a framework of rules consistent with Pathfinder that enables an efficient open-ended approach to grand-scale adventuring. Players are provided a structured approach to direct their characters throughout the world for each calendar month that will benefit a meaningful discovery of locations, NPCs, customs, organizations, and potential modules relevant to their campaign. Adventuring within the kingdom has all the familiar elements of a published module; except that you are granted an unsurpassed freedom of choice for your characters. Everything during Epic Gaming is tied together by actions and consequences. This method of play offers decisive progression with more personal encounters while developing a meaningful background for the campaign. No longer is it necessary for the GM to smudge player ambition due to lack of preparation or unsustainable whatever. To maintain the spirit of Pathfinder, the GM and players are given the option to slow down an encounter at any time and revert to modular Pathfinder play. Renown within the Kingdom You character will be given two values forming a diametric renown that portrays both good and evil. In this manner will it be possible to perform any character action with recorded results in both good and evil paradigms. Your starting renown value is character level + charisma + rank within your organization + social rank renown modifier + alignment modifier. Alignment modifier within the kingdom is chaotic -10 neutral 0 Law + 10. For your saintly renown it is good+5, neutral 0, evil -5 and for Criminal it is good-5, neutral 0 and evil +5. Your actions during gaming may affect your renown with everything that you do within the Kingdom. Your organization will also have an effect upon your renown. Consult table VI for determining final renown score. Your renown at the time of your action will either be saintly or criminal depending upon the circumstances of your action. You may decide which value is most applicable to your action, or you may ask the GM for help in determining this for you. Your renown scores will provide you with an applicable modifier that will be added to the success of completing an action. Table I: Renown Character Maintenance Individuals are assumed to have the capacity to sustain themselves from month-to-month with the basic necessities of provisions, lodging, etc unless their actions would prove otherwise. Epic Gaming is Skill Oriented During the course of your turn, your character will be called upon to use an appropriate skill set to complete his actions. The applicable skill set will be based upon your motivations and ultimately decided by the GM. There are four skill sets: Social, Survival, Gain, Pathfinding. Table II: Skill Sets Add your combined characters base skill ranks (without the added +3 for trained and +ability score) for each of your character's applicable skills. Then cross-reference the combined values on table III to achieve the four Skill Sets: social, survival, gain, pathfinding. Each of these skill set will be given a modifier. Your skill score modifier will help determine the completion of your action. (If playing with organizations, your organization may also contribute to your combined score depending upon your position within the organization.) When performing an action, add your skill score modifier when performing the check. Table III: Equivalent Scores Actions An action in Epic Gaming is something that will augment the scripted events of your game. Your character is given a number of actions per month based upon his social ranking. These actions will ultimately decide his adventure pathway within the kingdom. Most players will have a character that starts with a social rank of "adventurer". By virtue of rewards and consequences in Epic Gaming your character progression throughout the campaign calendar will be recorded by you and your GM. Table IV: Social Ranking Action points may be shared by players and can only be given to other players at the beginning of the month. Delegation of personal actions is permitted-- whereby a Lord/Steward or above can assign an action to another individual (in allegiance) to perform a certain task. Actions are pooled when adventuring together as a party. *(Note that the steward only receives a lord's number of actions if he remains within his estate for the month, otherwise if he is planning on adventuring he uses either his Noble or Adventurer rank. Noble requires at least 5 ranks in Knowledge (nobility). Initiative Why have an initiative? so that everyone gets an equal turn to participate. Initiative is determined at the beginning of every month with players adding their renown score modifier. In this manner can each player have a chance to play sequentially which makes a party split or segue more enjoyable for everyone. During your initiative, you will be able to perform a number of actions. Each action should follow a plausible (or fantastic) course of events that when combined together will form a characters pathway. Based upon your past actions and the narrative provided by your GM, you will need to imagine the situation that your character is in and describe to the group what (s)he intends to do. Several action types have been catagorized to help headline your characters actions. Your actions are played one at a time during your initiative. Once your action is completed, your GM will call the next initiative, allowing another player to play their action. This is repeated until the round is depleted and a new round is started with a new initiative. In this order will your actions guide your character while creating a progressive background for your campaign setting. Table V: Actions Once you describe your action, your GM will provide you with a means to complete your action. Your motivation will help determine your action type and also help assign one skill category for your character to use. The game mechanics are based upon the principle of least resistance, whereby more implausible actions will be more difficult. As this is a game, there is also some random chance in determining the outcome of your action. The probablity of succeeding an action will be greatly affected by how you choose to complete your action. Even though there is some randomness involved, your GM should make the best effort to provide a contiguous pathway for all of your characters actions. Party A party may be formed at any time. A party leader is chosen as a figurehead and each player forming the party must give (a deposit of) action points into the Party Action Pool. Party Action Pool The Party Action Pool represents the number of action points granted to the party. Party actions are declared by the leader at a cost of one action point and affects each individual forming the party. Eg, the party expends a movement action to travel from Yarsardith to Cuhmunal then expends an adventure action to find rumours within the village. The party leader may decide to disband one or all individuals forming the party. He may then decide to give back one action point from the party action pool to the disbanded individual. If no points are given to the individual, he remains within the environment as an NPC or as a PC that is guided by scripted events within the module. A reverse-combination can be calculated for returning the deposited action points. If the party is entirely disbanded, any remaining action points are evenly distriburted among individuals with any remainder lost. Accelerated Adventuring Most of us have no understanding of what it means to play grand-scale adventuring. We are accustomed to the dungeon crawl, prone to hearty false starts and when the red carpet isn't in sight; make up for it by chasing the almighty red herring. It takes us a couple hours to warm up to our game and often times when our group is in the swing of things it's time to pack up. We learn to play by it goes, not really planning but rather making our decisions as our situational feelings dictate. This method of play is a care-free way to play and is what we have come to expect from the game that we love. Epic gaming is somewhat different in that it offers a structured potential to develop your character with unlimited possibilities all while building a campaign background that is made credible by your groups combined actions, rewards and consequences. Character advancement will seem very quick to what you are accustomed to. (S)he will travel to all corners of the kingdom, interact with hundreds of NPCs all while amassing great wealth and levels of experience. As this type of play does offer greater rewards, so too does it require greater planning. Not to worry though, it is just a different way of playing and doesn't necessarily mean that more effort will be required. Rather, this type of play encourages planning and development. As the game progresses, your character will accumulate wealth that should be converted into something that will improve on her overall standings. In gaming terms, this wealth could avail you and your group with a greater preparation to play the type of modular D&D that you want. Ever want to explore the 7th layer of Hell, if you can afford a guild of High Mages with a planar gate you might be able to. Ever want to rule a province and wage war? Ever want to be a famous star with hundreds of groupies? All of your greatest gaming ambitions are possible and will only be limited by your willingness, imagination and level of preparation. It is a good idea to have a back-up character (or two) while playing Epic Gaming. If you should have the need or desire to change characters, try and find an opportune time within the session to bring up your new character. Also having your characters next level(s) already planned out before the session will offer the advantage of being fully prepared for your ongoing actions. The same goes with what you want for your character in terms of items and overall disposition. Epic Gaming Checklist Table VI: Checklist DC Action Chart Most actions undertaken by the PC are by nature easy/average. A challenge rating can help identify the difficulty of the task or encounter. The payout of the action is proportional to the difficulty rating. Circumstantial Modifiers The DC modifier for survival is reduce by 1 when taking the proper measures to insure the survival of your character. Stopping for treasure or encumbered by treasure will not reduce the DC but may increase your chances of getting caught. When attempting a gain action, increase the DC by 1 as there is always a risk associated to gain. Gain is not only physical treasure but can also be abstract as information or a favourable position. Taking 10 in epic gaming is permitted only if the encounter is non-threatening and the result can never gain you an action. Taking 20 is not permitted. Setting a Goal Players are encouraged to set a main goal for their characters. Setting a primary objective at the beginning of the month will provide a better sense of direction when deciding player actions. Any action that is consistent with accomplishing the players main goal (subject to the GM) will benefit a +1 on the DC check when attempting the action. The GM may also design goals to Epic Gaming in the form of modular objectives. Wanted signs, archeological discoveries, mythical longevity serrums, etc. These goal quests can be created in the form of a matrix that can be valued as on a X,Y grid. Once the player accumulates most or all checkpoints then he can claim a reward as appropriate to the quest. Time is of the Essence When describing your action, an estimate of time in days or weeks needs to be attached to your action. As an example, my character is attempting to travel by horse from Yarsardith to Cuhmenal in five days. A reasonable measure of time should be gauged to be proportional to the action undertaken where too little or too much time may cause adverse circumstances. The GM will then record the time that your action will take. Note that your GM may adjust the time +/- either as he sees fit or in response to how your action was (finally) completed. Resources do matter Any resource cost associated to your action should be declared when describing your action. Such as the cost of equiping your character or adventuring. This realistic cost will be seen as an offering to your action and may influence the final modifier. Again the GM may adjust the cost as befitting and any disproportional cost may reult in adverse circumstances. '' Hey, want to sell me your horse for a gold ... twwang, slash aaaiieeee'' Aiding an action roll When attempting an action, you may aid your action role by using a skill or using another means (spells, items, etc) that you think would benefit your situation. Eg, the action is to travel from Yarsardith to Cuhmunal and you would like to aid your action by using your characters ride skill. Remember that Epic gaming allows you unsurpassed control of your character and that you are systematically building the story and background for your character; the more details you provide for your actions, the more campaign (hooks) will be available for you down the road. Your GM will try to validate the logic of your aid action based upon your description and award a bonus from three different levels as most pertaining to the situation. If you used a skill in aiding your action, the DC for your aid is set at the DC of your action. A successful aid will award a bonus to your action DC roll of either +3, +2 or +1 and the aid bonus is dependent on the top three most pertaining methods of aid that are applicable to your situation. The top three category is largely decided by your GM and should be considered prior to your roll. For ease of play, a competent GM might occasionally ''weigh your aiding action roll bonus on the fly. Within a party, an individual may aid the leader at the cost of his personal action point. The aid bonuses will stack. Other ways to aid are respective of the individuals class, character or organization. A fighter might try to bash his way using a strength check. A rogue might try to perform a sneak attack using the to-hit as a DC bonus (to a max of +3). The aid option is situational and offers the player a chance to be creative with each action. The GM will then weigh in all the aid factors and may ''always decide to reward the player with an added bonus to his action roll. Difficulty Rating When gauging the difficulty of an action, the GM must understand the players action. It is of the utmost importance that the player effectively communicate the intentions of his action, and the GM should ask for elaborations as required. It is equally important that the GM have a thorough understanding of the campaign milieu, including organizations, environment, and current developments. It is then up to the GM to determine the difficulty rating based upon the players action in relation to the applicable character(s), story and background. The action should be manageable within the scope of time alotted by the player. The resources expended by the character should equate the cost of the action. The action should contain a logical continuity that is relevant to the present story, stage and character. There is always a degree of resistance to the players action that needs to be carefully considered by the GM. As examples, a character at sea trying to buy an item is implausible and should be deemed extremely difficult; a character wanting to buy an item in a war zone might be perilous and also deemed difficult; whereas a lawful character in a city buying an item is usually an easy action. Gaming as an Abstract Convention The amount of steps deemed necessary in successfully completing an action will equate to the time and effort required in performing the action and should play a significant part in determining the difficulty rating. For example, a character wanting to travel to the Wintry Mountains to slay the Eagle King without making the necessary travel provisions may be stacking too many steps and find his action to be very difficult. A pencil and paper should be used to keep track of the relevant steps involved with completing the action. The step count should be abstract and not constraining to details but rather calculating the necessary (story) chapters required to completing the intended action. As an example, an action of "module" that would be considered easy is perhaps a nearby lair with an encounter of CR -2 and may consist of up to three steps-- one to approach (intro) the module, one to negotiate the module and one to conclude the module. An average difficulty would be a local temple or residence with a few rooms and occupied by an average encounter CR and requiring one to five steps to complete. Keep in mind that it is possible for players to keep repeating (stacking) the same action throughout the month as a means to accomplish a larger module. It is the GMs responsibility to maintain an integrity for all player actions. A measure of relativity must be narrated by referencing campaign background information as well as Pathfinder rule mechanics. The GM should maintain an open disclosure with the player when dealing with the CR difficulty of the action-- in this approach can the player be provided with some opportunity to refit his final action or at the very least learn for the next time. By creating a consistent approach to game mastering is it possible to nurture an affluence of ease and ultimate success for player actions. Finally, it is up to the GM to record the actions of characters on a campaign calendar so as to syncronize the turns (more or less). This record will form a ledger of actions that will provide a great repertroire for future story and background to your campaign. An action that is allowed to continue into the next calendar month will force the player to miss any beginning of the month rules and his new monthly actions will commence once his last action ended. This will ultimately affect how many days the player has available for his next turn. Any remaining action points held by a player that extend into the next month (from the last month) are automatically lost. Table VII: Difficulty DC As a tip, prior to making a DC check, a player should have a backup plan in the event that he does not succeed. This post narrative may assist the GM in determining the consequences of a failed player action. Table VIII: Results The % check rule is only done once per action. When rolling on miscibility table, add or subtract your final DC result to the dice score. Table IX: Immediate Miscibility When determining catastrophic or discovery results multiply the consequences by a factor proportional to the encounter rating, starting with average being X2, difficult X3, etc. Action Consequences Where simple failure of an action usually results in no progress in resolving the action at this time, a minor, moderate and major consequence will generate a resultant (storyhook) that is measured by the (inertia of the) action and should be interpreted 10%, 25%, 50% in direct opposition to the action. A table of suggested interpretations is provided as a means to differentiate the level of consequences along with the applicable targets. Table X: Action Consequence Some effort has been made in factoring the area of effect when dealing with the consequence of an action. Yet as a players actions are game concepts that are represented by abstract determination, an equal amount of deductive reasoning must be exercised by the GM when weighing the outcome. A minor/major consequence might affect the players next gain, pathfinding, survival, or social action at +1/+5 DC or have a more profound element that indirectly affects the storyline; perhaps an NPC takes note of the characters actions and informs a relevant organization, or a random encounter may immediately be triggered, etc. Time and resources may also be added as an added cost to the consequence, using the modifer 10%, 25% or 50% X CR modifier (25%, 50%, etc). So if it took 10 days for the action (regardless of completion) and it resulted in a hazerdous adventure of an equivalent CR (100%) then it would be 25% of 100% time added which is 2.5 days. Not too bad. When fighting a creature, a fail will result in the creature giving it's full damage to the character. In a party action, the damage is given to the most likely character or randomly determined. For every score rolled below the pass DC, the full damage is multiplied. So eg., if the character needed a DC 15 and scored a 13, then the damage multiplier is x2. There is a chance that the combat does not end and merely keeps going, the action is rerolled and the DC is increased by the failed score, so in the DC 15 roll of 13 it is increased by +2 to DC 17. The GM can always decide that the combat was broken and the character has fallen back to safety, perhaps leaving his sword, or haversack behind ... Ultimately, action consequences should always be applicable to the player and have the full support of the story, stage and character. As a method of validation, consequences should be noted respective of each player action for gaming posterity, even if in shorthand or categorical checkmarks. Rewarding an Action Epic gaming is a means to bridge moduling with campaigning and as such player rewards should be consistent with those obtained within D&D. Due to the grand scale of Epic Gaming, rewards are usually awarded to the player in a larger sum then those found in conventional (modular) play. In regular D&D, players accumulate rewards in the form of treasures and experience points collected evenly throughout the session. In Epic Gaming, the character is progressing at an accelerated pace and needs to be compensated accordingly. It is not uncommon for a character to level up several times during a session or to find enough gold to start building a castle or amass a large army to wage war. The player should be ready in game for rapid character advancement. Actions are rewarded according to the Award Type on table VIII. An award of "continuity" will provide the character with a +1 to his next DC action. All continuity rewards can only stack to a maximum of +1. Wealth rewards are physical acquisitions and are awarded by the Payout of the CR value. Non-specific examples can be obtained on http://pathfinder.zonegamma.com/ Individuals are characters, cohorts, followers, men-at-arms, henchmen etc that are discovered by player action either by random determination or specific means and follow the NPC rules outlined in the Pathfinder Core. Personal rewards are specific to the character and should be interpreted by the situation at the GMs discretion. A retiring character transfers the personal reward to his next character. All concluded actions should be awarded Experience Points. There are four hard values to identify when determining the Experience Points reward for an action: Table XI: Reward Flowchart Experience Points are allocated up to the maximum of the percentage of the Payout per action. Example an Easy High Council gives 10% of the 50% Payout of the suggested CR. Consult the Experience Points Awards Table on http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/gamemastering.html#table-12-2-experience-point-awards when determining Experience Points reward by CR. Consideration must be taken by the GM when determining the full payout; how successful was the action? How effective was the player in delivering his action? Was there much role-playing, thoughtfulness, etc Did the action create a rewarding experience for everyone at the table? These are some of the factors to consider when allocating full payout for a successful action. Awards may also provide attachments to the character that could have future implications to Epic Gaming. A rogue traveling with a wagon full of gold might be a questionable target for the local authorities, etc. Table XII: Rewards Achievements Acheivements are incidental values that are a product of character actions. These "storyhooks" will have the benefit of aiding the GM during the course of Epic Gaming. The values should be recorded under the character's name during the course of play as a singular word that best describes the action. In such a manner will it be possible for the GM to have a quick look at the character attachments to calibrate the difficulty rating and consequences when gauging future actions. An example of an attachment might be the word "unlawful" for a character robbing a bank.